Turned Out Nice Again: Living with the Weather

by Richard Mabey

In his trademark style, Richard Mabey weaves together science, art and memoirs (including his own) to show the weather's impact on our culture and national psyche. He rambles through the myths of Golden Summers and our persistent state of denial about the winter; the Impressionists' love affair with London smog, seasonal affective disorder (SAD - do we all get it?) and the mysteries of storm migraines; herrings falling like hail in Norfolk and Saharan dust reddening south-coast cars; moonbows, dog-suns, fog-mirages and Constable's clouds; the fact that English has more words for rain than Inuit has for snow; the curious eccentricity of country clothing and the mathematical behaviour of umbrella sales. We should never apologise for our obsession with the weather. It is one of the most profound influences on the way we live, and something we all experience in common.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Natural History, Science, Essays, History

90 pages, Hardcover

First published February 18, 2013

About the author

Richard Mabey is one of England's greatest nature writers. He is author of some thirty books including Nature Cure which was shortlisted for the Whitbread, Ondaatje and Ackerley Awards.

A regular commentator on the radio and in the national press, he is also a Director of the arts and conservation charity Common Ground and Vice-President of the Open Spaces Society. He lives in Norfolk.

Reviews

[Peter Hairygardener · Rating 1 out of 5]

I like Richard Mabey but I don't like this book, my goodness does he waffle on, glad I only borrowed it from the Library

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

A gentle, but extremely well-informed and well-considered ramble through our attitudes to weather, and related topics.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not entirely sure what to make of this book. First off, however, I have no problem with it being an essay rather than a great fat tome. I particularly enjoyed his writing about 'halcyon days' and somehow the slightness of the volume fitted well with the notion of (retrospectively) fleeting experiences of joy and profound contentment. What I am not sure about though is whether ultimately the content is more slight than profound - beautiful words do not necessarily lift a book out of stocking filler territory. It is a problem common to a good deal of nature writing in my (limited) experience. Perhaps this book is best seen as a taster for exploring some of the themes of the British relationship with weather in more depth - the spiritual impact, the impact on our landscapes.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a charming little book about the relationship between the British and the weather; the title is the greeting that two strangers will normally exchange rather then hello.

It is a very short book, on 90 pages, and it is split into five chapters. He writes about the exceptional weather moments that we have had, and also the mundane. We can go from snow one week in June, to balmy weather a week later. In the past he has suffer from depression, which he wrote about in his book Nature Cure, and he explores the way that weather can affect mood and emotion, and how even a wrong forecast can.

Even though it is short, consider it a distillation of the writers art.

[Andrew Cox · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable read. Mabey can be very incisive in his writing but this is a simple, at times endearing, but a straightforward easy read. Read in an afternoon & an enjoyable afternoon at that but it wont stay in my mind.

[Stewart Monckton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a slight – about 80 small pages – but nonetheless worthwhile consideration of weather, our relationship with it and eventually our impact on it.

If you are already a fan of the writing of Richard Mabey this will be a very familiar read. It contains sections of introspection, mainly about depression and mental illness, beautifully observed sections about the fine detail of the countryside and (in my opinion) a slightly too reverential approach to a small group of authors – in this case Gilbert White is singled out.

If you are not a fan – or if you are coming fresh to his work – this is about as good an introduction as you could get.

It could be read in a single sitting of less than an hour and leave you asking for more.

My only concern is that on two occasions Mabey seems to conflate meteorological and geological phenomenon. He identifies the climate of the UK to be generally benign – citing a lack of volcanoes or tsunamis. And he identifies a “halcyon day” as being caused (at least partly) but the incoming tide flowing over a bottle of wine. None of these is in any way a weather (or even climate) related event. This struck me as unfortunate.

With the exception of the point in the last paragraph I would highly recommend this book – just don’t take on a train journey that last more that 40 minutes!

[Janet Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really small book - in fact an afternoon read. It's by one of my favourite nature writers, and talks about the weather and our response to it, particularly how it affects our mental health. This is of considerable interest to Mabey as he suffers quite severely from depression.
What I particularly enjoy about his writing is the sheer poetry in his style...like this description of a trip to a wood which was said to flood in the spring
"So, on the afternoon of 21 March, first day of spring, I perch under the oaks in Lamorran Wood and wait for the equi-noctial high tide. There are piping curlews overhead, and a thin rime of salt on the lower branches, maybe a relic of earlier inundations. When the high water seeps up to where I'm sitting, it's not quite the dramatic mix of wood and water I'd hoped for. It laps milkely and rather sedately around the primroses and golden saxifrage, but doesn't flood as I'd dreamed it might."

[Normfg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richard Mabey probably the best Nature writer of the day. A tiny, beautiful, book of 90 pages, with 5 sections, in which Mabey explores our never-ending fascination with weather. Through anecdote, exquisite observation,science,cultural references, his own experience and memory, he brings a beautifully fresh view to the subject few of us tire of talking about at least once a day - our weather.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gorgeous breakdown of how the most seemingly innocuous of things; the weather, which most hardly give a second thought, effects and dictates every level of our daily lives. Typically Mabey with a mixture of the historic, current, scientific, artistic and biographical all bundled together in a tight, but worthwhile read.

[Ashleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A small but beautifully written book about the weather and our relationship to it in Britain. Some passages are particularly lyrical, such as ‘Turned Out Nice Again’ and ‘Halcyon Days’ but the book is also scientific in places and I enjoyed it. Would definitely read again.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining, beautifully written little book about the weather.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely book that is a perfect travel book. Could be read and re-read many times.

[Andy Emery · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice little summary of what weather means to us and nature, in Mabey's inimitable style.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice little book, good for a Christmas gift. As I live in the Fens, several sections felt particularly relevant to me.

[Liz Mckay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed very much

[Nick Burdick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mabey is a good writer, and this extended essay is an enjoyable read for those of us who find it important to reflect on the way we interact with and are affected by the natural world. He examines the different ways that weather affects us, both exterior and interior/psychological. Along the way he makes surprising connections and perceptively intuits that we are not only victims of the weather, but in many important ways, creators of it, both physically, in the ways we've altered the atmosphere with our emissions, and psychologically, in the ways we write our own perceptions and associations onto the hard facts:

"Seasonal affective disorders may be biochemical in part, but they're also cognitive. They're about our interpretations of 'what's happening out there,' about the tarnishing of childhood memories, about dashed hopes and lost moorings."

"Days of halcyon weather often occur because in some way, often unconsciously, you have worked for them."

He ends the essay with a chapter about climate change, cautioning us against technical solutions that could prove worse than the problem itself on the one hand, and against false optimism on the other. He says that we must learn to mitigate against the worst effects of climate change, but also recognize that we will have to face the facts and adjust to a bleak period of starvations and extinctions. It's a difficult message to hear, but I fear it may be the most realistic.

[John Naylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a short book. For me, it never got going. There is no doubt that the author has talent and is one of the most informed nature writers. This book just felt long-winded and drier than any drought it mentioned.

I feel that this could have been made into two chapters in a longer work. It just didn't work for me as it is. It references a lot of older works which could be worth looking up.

It isn't terrible but I also couldn't recommend it.

[Sophy H · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written mini book by one of my favourite nature writers.

A simple yet effective foray into the weather and our associations with it, culturally, physically, psychologically and emotionally.

I took about an hour or two to mosey on through this mini title and it was an hour or two well spent.

[Mitch Karunaratne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A series of short essays that explore our relationship with weather. Climate change features as the looming backdrop to each essay - but Mabey focuses on our personal, intimate relationships and experiences of weather. I love his range of references - across disciplines and centuries. Mabeys writing is engaging and informative - I love the snippets and wisdom he makes so accessible and human.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very short book, more like a handful of essays at around 100 pages. It is, however, a great read on the nature of weather, it’s effects on your mood and the storm clouds of our changing climate. Well worth a read but perhaps get it second hand, or from the library. I’ll be reading this again soon.

[Penny Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful nature writing. A sharply observed reflection on the British obsession with the weather.

[Damaskcat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This intriguing and affectionate look at the weather made me think of the varied weather we experience in the UK in a somewhat different manner. The author looks briefly at the way the weather affects how we feel – dark days make us feel quiet and depressed, sunny days cheer us up and strong winds make some people feel on edge.

The weather has a huge effect on our daily lives and it is something we all talk about. A comment on the weather is often the first thing we say to people after we say hello. It is because our weather is so varied that we find it such a common topic of conversation. Our memory of weather events which we personally witnessed tends to be selective. For example many people remember the hot summer of 1976 but far fewer remember the equally hot summer of 1975.

The author quotes from various diarists such as Francis Kilvert and Gilbert White who both made a point of mentioning the weather in their work. I enjoyed reading this little book which is written in an easy and entertaining style and it reminded me that we often confuse weather with climate. I also learned of a phenomenon which I have never seen or heard of before – moon rainbows. I shall now be looking out for them if there is bright moonlight and rain showers – an uncommon combination.

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short, essay-length book, Turned Out Nice Again is a meditation on weather and psychology, a consideration of the fact that while weather 'is an incontestable feature of the physical world, (it) is also a creature of our imaginations. How we experience and deal with it depends on our moods and memories and powers of myth-making, on how we talk to each other, on our hopes for the future'.
Mabey references most of the usual suspects: Ruskin, Wordsworth, Gilbert White, Coleridge and others, but also relates a number of personal experiences and local myths and legends. Mabey's own relationship with the weather is often beautifully described - while his wife is skating on a frozen Norfolk pond, he wanders casually around the edge of the common 'casually looking for fieldfares and barn owls, and enjoying the way the icy crust over the mud scrunched like a creme brûlée under my feet'. I know exactly the sensation he describes.
The final chapter, 'The storm clouds of the twenty-first century' compare Ruskin's apocalyptic fears for the future of weather in the nineteenth century to the impact of global warming in our own. It's not an optimistic outlook, but, as the author concludes, we will probably learn to deal with whatever nature throws at us.

[Blue · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little gem of a book. On a day like any, I imagine, in Inverness, where the morning was hot and sunny (except for when it lightly rained), mid-day was increasingly cloudy (except for when it was sunny) and the afternoon and evening were gloomy with rain (except for a few patches of blue sky), on the last day of a two-week vacation (I mean, holiday) in Scotland (including Isle of Skye) in August, what better to do but to read this little book and contemplate how we relate to our weather, the daily, hourly, minute-by-minute of the climate happening to us? Richard Mabey argues that the whimsical weather (or any unsteadiness in the weather) is there, yes, but is also in our heads just a wee bit. From rogue bottles of wine lost in lochs to the local's landlord diving for more drink during storms, Mabey takes a meandering journey that explores our relationship to the weather.

Recommended for those who like walks in nature, swimming in cold waters, and camping in the damp.

[Alex Sarll]

A slim but wise volume on the British accommodation with our "whimsical" weather, what we mythologise and what we forget. Inevitably, it ends on a worried note as it contemplates the oncoming storm of climate change - compounded, for me, by reading roughly half the book either side of seeing Doggerland, an intense and hieratic dance piece on the same themes. Fingers crossed that Mabey is right, and a century hence Britons will still be muddling through and wryly greeting each other with his title.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short, read in a rainy afternoon book about how the weather impinges on the emotions and actions of people. Often quite lyrical it is an enjoyable read. The chapter, Halcyon Days, was particularly good. The phrase derives from a spell of calm November weather when it was believed the kingfisher incubated its eggs on the sea. Alkoun is the Greek for kingfisher.

[Suzie Grogan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book - an extended essay really - on our relationship with Britain's 'whimsical' (Richard Mabey's term) weather. I could read Mr Mabey all day long; he writes so lyrically and with such a passion for nature that it enthuses, informs and enchants. Loved it.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

As ever with Mabey, this very short book is beautifully written. Concerning the British preoccupation with weather, it contains some amusing insights and trademark lyrical touches. Although little more than an extended article, it is worth reading if you have a spare couple of hours.

[Sarah England · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent little gem of a book. Terribly English, but full of fascinating facts and some sublime writing.

[Gareth Renowden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mabey explores the relationship between weather and the way we think (and write) about the world. Short, but perfectly formed, this book is exquisitely written.